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Permalink Reply by Christopher Hatton on 1st mo. 29, 2022 at 2:13pm

Dear William,

I am minded to agree with your comments on self-congratulation, and many of us having a somewhat rose-tinted/blinked view of our work / faithfulness.  I have been guilty of this many times (and will be in the future), however my hope (and faith) is that we re-learn on how to identify, share and support our spiritual gifts.

I self-label as a convergent Friend, hoping to rejuvenate / re-invorgate our spiritual lives whilst staying (or trying to) faithful to our traditions and being rooted in the living spirit of Christ and letting Christ into our lives so that he may teach us/show us the way. 

I have been enjoying leading semi-programmed worship in an ecumenical setting, a bit hit and miss at ties, but very occasionally we can feel the spirit of Christ amongst us and I feel there is a thirst for more knowledge about and experience of being in the presence. I am not saying this is the way forward, but I am often told and have come to realise one of my spiritual gifts is in supporting fellowship and bringing people together.

One area that I do see a real need for based on my "limited" experience , is a ministry of healing and how we deal with conflict and abuse/misuse of privileges both within our Worship groups, but also in wider society. From experience, a healing/healed heart is an open heart, one ready to support others in their spiritual lives / journeys.

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Permalink Reply by William F Rushby on 2nd mo. 16, 2022 at 9:54pm

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Christopher Hatton said:

Dear William,

I am minded to agree with your comments on self-congratulation, and many of us having a somewhat rose-tinted/blinked view of our work / faithfulness.  I have been guilty of this many times (and will be in the future), however my hope (and faith) is that we re-learn on how to identify, share and support our spiritual gifts.

I self-label as a convergent Friend, hoping to rejuvenate / re-invorgate our spiritual lives whilst staying (or trying to) faithful to our traditions and being rooted in the living spirit of Christ and letting Christ into our lives so that he may teach us/show us the way. 

I have been enjoying leading semi-programmed worship in an ecumenical setting, a bit hit and miss at ties, but very occasionally we can feel the spirit of Christ amongst us and I feel there is a thirst for more knowledge about and experience of being in the presence. I am not saying this is the way forward, but I am often told and have come to realise one of my spiritual gifts is in supporting fellowship and bringing people together.

One area that I do see a real need for based on my "limited" experience , is a ministry of healing and how we deal with conflict and abuse/misuse of privileges both within our Worship groups, but also in wider society. From experience, a healing/healed heart is an open heart, one ready to support others in their spiritual lives / journeys.

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Permalink Reply by William F Rushby on 2nd mo. 16, 2022 at 10:00pm

Christoipher Hatton:  Thanks for your reply!   

William F Rushby said:

+++++

Christopher Hatton said:

Dear William,

I am minded to agree with your comments on self-congratulation, and many of us having a somewhat rose-tinted/blinked view of our work / faithfulness.  I have been guilty of this many times (and will be in the future), however my hope (and faith) is that we re-learn on how to identify, share and support our spiritual gifts.

I self-label as a convergent Friend, hoping to rejuvenate / re-invorgate our spiritual lives whilst staying (or trying to) faithful to our traditions and being rooted in the living spirit of Christ and letting Christ into our lives so that he may teach us/show us the way. 

I have been enjoying leading semi-programmed worship in an ecumenical setting, a bit hit and miss at ties, but very occasionally we can feel the spirit of Christ amongst us and I feel there is a thirst for more knowledge about and experience of being in the presence. I am not saying this is the way forward, but I am often told and have come to realise one of my spiritual gifts is in supporting fellowship and bringing people together.

One area that I do see a real need for based on my "limited" experience , is a ministry of healing and how we deal with conflict and abuse/misuse of privileges both within our Worship groups, but also in wider society. From experience, a healing/healed heart is an open heart, one ready to support others in their spiritual lives / journeys.

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Permalink Reply by Dillon James on 5th mo. 22, 2022 at 10:03pm

Are Friends really self-congratulatory about their spotty record, though?

As someone who has not personally met that many Quakers, I can't say. Maybe that's a real trend.

But the few Quakers I have met and practiced with have been the opposite of self-congratulatory about Quaker history and belief. That attitude is what kept me interested. So, even if it isn't commonplace, it is still there to be found. So far, I've been quite inspired by Quaker attitudes. They may not be perfect, but I find them admirable... at least something I hope to personally realize, if possible.

A lot of believers pat themselves on the back. I have found Quakers the least prone to do this. But, again. I'm working with a small sample size.

I don't want the Quaker religion to die out or anything, but I'm not troubled at all to see it "whither" or pass out of popular practice (or "rot" if it needs to). Maybe that's a good thing. To keep it humble. To keep it real. I just want to see Quakerism alive. It doesn't have to be perfect. It can be small. It can be flawed. It always has been flawed hasn't it? George Fox was flawed, wasn't he?

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Permalink Reply by Robert Cowper on 6th mo. 24, 2022 at 9:18pm

Some evangelicals are open to things. It is schisms as is case for any religions course. 

https://mfsaweb.salsalabs.org/giveoutday2021-june302021-a_copy1_cop...

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